Village of Oak Creek, Arizona

Village of Oak Creek or Big Park is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 6,147 at the 2010 census, up from 5,245 in 2000. Big Park is more commonly known as the Village of Oak Creek (VOC), and is a bedroom community for Sedona, Arizona, just 7 miles away. Tourism and service to retirees and second-home owners are the basis for the local economy. Big Park, the pioneers' name for the large open area that became the Village of Oak Creek in the early 1960s, is set among scenic red-rock buttes and canyons. The Bell Rock scenic area adjoins the north end of VOC, and the town is surrounded by the Coconino National Forest. A Forest Service Visitor Center is located at the south end of VOC.

Village of Oak Creek, Arizona
Aerial view of the community
Location of Village of Oak Creek (Big Park) in Yavapai County, Arizona.
Village of Oak Creek, Arizona
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 34°46′59″N 111°45′40″W
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountiesYavapai
Area
 • Total5.26 sq mi (13.61 km2)
 • Land5.26 sq mi (13.61 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
4,105 ft (1,251 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total6,147
 • Estimate 
(2016)[2]
N/A
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST)
FIPS code04-80095

Big Park's FIPS code is 07570.[3] Residents of VOC have a Sedona ZIP code, 86351.

Geography
Bell Rock, in the Village of Oak Creek

Big Park is located at 34°46′59″N 111°45′40″W (34.783149, -111.761017).[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.6 square miles (12 km2), all of it land.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1910141—
19903,024—
20005,24573.4%
20106,14717.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]

Village of Oak Creek first appeared as the Oak Creek Precinct in 1910.[6] It did not reappear on the census again until 1990, when it was called Big Park and was made a census-designated place (CDP).[7] In 2010, the name was changed to the present Village of Oak Creek (although alternatively called Big Park on census documents).[8]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 5,245 people, 2,560 households, and 1,602 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,154.1 people per square mile (446.1/km2). There were 3,117 housing units at an average density of 685.9 per square mile (265.1/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.56% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.53% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. 6.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,560 households, out of which 14.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.01 and the average family size was 2.44.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 12.7% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 17.7% from 25 to 44, 33.0% from 45 to 64, and 33.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 56 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $38,477, and the median income for a family was $46,268. Males had a median income of $38,007 versus $24,826 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $30,026. About 5.8% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

Arts

The Verde Valley Music Festival was held on the first weekend of each October at the Verde Valley School, just west of VOC. The Festival was a fundraiser for Native American scholarships at VVS, and long benefited from the sponsorship and generosity of Jackson Browne, whose son attended the school. Normally a mostly-acoustical show, past headliners include Browne (who almost always performs), Neil Young, and Bruce Cockburn.[10]

Education

The Village of Oak Creek is served by the Sedona-Oak Creek Unified School District, and hosts the Big Park Community School (K-6), "Home of the Coyotes".

Verde Valley School, an International Baccalaureate boarding/college preparatory high school with many international and Native American students, is located between the Oak Creek and Red Rock Crossing. VVS was founded in 1948 by Hamilton and Barbara Warren. Scholars who helped found the school and guide its early years included Harvard anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs during the Franklin Roosevelt administration.[11]

Notable residents

Sedona legend Helen Varner Vanderbilt Frye (1908–1979), who built the better-known House of Apache Fire (now part of Red Rock State Park) with her then-husband, TWA President Jack Frye, built another notable estate in the Village of Oak Creek, Sky Fires, in what is now the Sedona Golf Resort. The house was badly damaged in a 1983 fire, and was later demolished.[12]

See also

References
  1. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  3. FIPS Common codes for Arizona Missouri Census Data Center. 2000. Accessed 25 May 2007.
  4. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  5. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  6. https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/41033935v1-8ch2.pdf
  7. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cp-1/cp-1-4.pdf?
  8. ftp://ftp2.census.gov/library/publications/2012/dec/cph-1-4.pdf
  9. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  10. Tucson Weekly : Music : How Browne Is My Valley
  11. VVS history Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  12. sedona legend helen frye
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.